Black Mesa (Zero Punctuation)

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This week on Zero Punctuation, Yahtzee reviews Black Mesa.
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[@theescapist]

Watch this week's Zero Punctuation on Ori and the Will of the Wisps: www.escapistmagazine.com/v2/ori-and-the-will-of-the-wisps-zero-punctuation/

[@jayl9110]

Do we have an updated timeframe for the media player in the site being overhauled, or is it largely being played by ear? I understand that you're doing all you can to make the website experience better for mobile users, so I'm absolutely not criticising, I'm just wondering.

[@theescapist]

@@jayl9110 I'm trying to find that out myself. We had an ad-tech issue with it last week when I was supposed to test it, and now we've got the pandemic to deal with which is slowing things down a bit. Sorry, checking with them every day to get that sorted.

[@jayl9110]

@@theescapist don't apologise. I'm just thankful you're all able to keep making stuff to ease the boredom of lockdown & do so while staying safe yourselves.

[@dankelteufel193]

C'mon Yahtzee where's Doom Eternal?

[@DatBoi-mo9vc]

@@dankelteufel193 you are not speaking to yahtzee, this is brett their social media guy

[@vinnythewebsurfer]

“The solution wasn’t to put on the other Wellington boot” Well at least it’s symmetrical.

[@inendlesspain4724]

Dr. Steinman didn't like this comment.

[@griffingamer8624]

I'd say the Wellington boot was at least more fashionable and better looking than just... green. The Xen levels in Black Mesa are phenomenal in my opinion. Compared to... whatever the hell Valve made in 1998.

[@adam.skalny]

And shiny, oh god how nice and shiny they are... with awesome background music. That's always a good fit to Wellington boots, isn't it?

[@MrFlarespeed]

@@griffingamer8624 yeah, a better analogy would be that instead of the green wellington they put 2 combat boots on the suited man. Still didn't quite fit the style, but at least wasn't a fashion disaster

[@Haydskempster]

He might look silly, but he can kick the shit out of you.

[@r.pizzamonkey7379]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="122">2:02</a> See, I know this was a joke, but they're actually doing this. No really, look up Project Lambda.

[@merrittanimation7721]

He spoke too soon.

[@FriezaSucks]

>Number of office suicides since coronavirus shut-downs: 1

[@jackliu8991]

its not meant to be a full remake lie BM i think

[@r.pizzamonkey7379]

@@scottfriske9186 That's a community-made half life 3 game, not a remake of any existing games.

[@theviniso]

@@r.pizzamonkey7379 And it's not even the only fanmade HL3 game, Boreal Alyph is in development right now as well.

[@francesco8000]

To be fair i think the last chapter was an impossible mission from the start: if they keep it someone like Yatzhee will complain that it doesn't fit the feeling of the game. If they remove and put something else instead someone would complain that it's not true to the original.

[@Capt_Dango]

Probably jumping the gun since I personally never finished Xen, but isn't the point of you going there to stop the alien invasion? Why do people say it doesn't make sense?

[@Laroac]

@@Capt_Dango Because it makes sense, and they just like to complain. There is a reason they took their time and even donsulted with the original developers.

[@KillahMate]

Capt Dango It makes perfect sense narratively, that's why Valve did it in '98. The problem is in the actual playing of it; while the story is reaching its culmination, the gameplay - the actual thing you're doing - is instead starting from scratch in a completely different genre.

[@fighteer1]

The problem with Xen is that it's just not very good. Narratively, it's fine: you fight the aliens, then the humans, then the humans and aliens together, then after the humans bugger off, you go kill the alien leader to stop the invasion. However, it was clearly done in a rushed manner and doesn't match the quality of the rest of the game. Black Mesa's vision of Xen is *hauntingly* beautiful. It's a visual and aesthetic treat, and it carries on the narrative in a minimalistic way that has you combing through the remnants left behind by the original research expedition before they all started getting eaten. It is a bit long; I'll give Yahtzee that. It's also a bit too pleased with itself over its own puzzle elements, none of which have any bearing on the finale. The battle with the Nihilanth, though, is perhaps the juiciest and most unexpected treat of them all. It's a little visually busy for my tastes, but really feels like a boss fight. It earns a nearly-perfect A.

[@prcervi]

Because of narrative they can't trash it, but gameplay of the section is borderline unsalvageable so they'd hardly want to keep it. Best that could be hoped for is somehow making it a tad less unenjoyable to play, though first person precision platforming is in itself a very difficult gameplay element to make work.

[@MiningCraftable]

I gotta say, as someone who has not played the original half life but has played black mesa, I really liked it. I was so taken aback by how much narrative they put in the game with no cutscenes or preanimated segments. Good to know that this is what the original is like as well.

[@ohilevoeauca789]

As far as I can tell, the only "preanimated" segments are just Gordon Freeman standing up from being unconscious. Or what happens if you refuse the G-man at the end.

[@Micras08]

An excellent point and one that adds some reasonable validity to the project and remakes in general. Younger generation will at SOME point run into an old classic and pass it by simply because it looks dated. I'm in my 30's so it has not happen a lot for me, but it does happen from time to time which is a shame :)

[@PaulGirdlestone]

@@ohilevoeauca789 And even that was just a camera entity on an invisible platform set to scroll along with the military guys walking. Gordan Freeman as a model in the campaign doesn's exist at all.

[@johndou423]

Same here, I've never played the original because it existed back when I didn't. I really enjoyed black mesa and was surprised at how well done the level design was, although a huge chunk of the game was just me going in circles trying to find my way, I'm probably going to get a lot of shit for saying this, but I wish it had an objective pointer or some sort of map. Also most of the time it is really quiet with no music or dialog, this is probably just me being accustomed to modern games but the game did feel lonely and quiet from time to time.

[@U_F_N_M]

If you haven't played it, Half-Life 2 is like that as well with a way richer story.

[@EyeoftheU]

I would always argue that Black Mesa's take on broccoli is not "just" three times as much. There is also an element of "so what if we deep-fried the broccoli and served it with cheese?" in there as well.

[@SleepyAdam]

"Black Mesa will be have to be made in Unreal Engine 4 with VR support and- oh let's not put the idea in their heads." Nobody tell him. Nobody. Tell. Him.

[@fieryrebirth]

Too late! Escapist is already putting him through that hell!

[@Bred0nSch00lV2]

This is the dream goal for Project Borealis.

[@naturesquad9174]

@@Bred0nSch00lV2 but valve is already making the Next Half-Life...and Epistle 3's ending is HL: Alyx's ending so it's already irrelevant

[@Bred0nSch00lV2]

@@naturesquad9174 I hope Valve are making a Half Life 3 because I think it's safe to call it the games industry's most prominent example of vapourware. 😄 Also unofficial games as awesome as they can be are developed at a snail's pace as they are hobbyist projects. Still Project Borealis could be really awesome, I loved their physics demo.

[@BigA207]

HELLO GORDON!!

[@BugsyFoga]

What a great way to celebrate the release of Half Life Alyx

[@alldayagain]

Can't wait to hear him talk about it. I was flabbergasted that Valve actually made a fucking game

[@Peluceus]

KZbin videos for the escapist run like a week or two behind IIRC, their site have the most up to date, wouldn't be surprised if it showed up on this channel in the next two weeks.

[@henryambrose8607]

@@Peluceus Yeah Black Mesa finally released out of early access just before this video was uploaded to the Escapist website.

[@ehtlamzone2525]

alldayagain valve just made artifact

[@ThePigeon5734]

@@alldayagain I was flabbergasted enough that I bought a new PC and a headset to play it, and wasn't let down!

[@zomg1337h4x]

They're waiting for you Yahtzee. In Early Accessssssssssss.

[@JODA93]

Hissss!!!

[@spectolder8536]

Guess they spent all that time early accessed because ITS NOT SHUTTING DOWN AHH AAAHH

[@Yggi11]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="46">0:46</a> "Announced fifteen years ago..." WAIT WHAT?

[@mannhouse8014]

Goddamn, I'm old as hell

[@666Tomato666]

what's up ya geezer?

[@mannhouse8014]

@@LuizAlexPhoenix im not THAT old. Im a zoomer lmao

[@mr.thanonchai8559]

Well...The first screenshots from Black Mesa in MoDDB was 2005.

[@Ausdrake]

@@LuizAlexPhoenix Ah bummer, I wondered what those gnarly pains were. I should totally tell my body to not have a cow, man! I don't have a fringe to put through the hole in the back of my cap anymore anyway.

[@meapickle]

i'm more familiar with the layout of half life than female genitalia. Says a married father

[@kylejscheffler]

I mean, we can only confirm he's ever been in a vagina ONCE. Technically speaking

[@CompleteAnimation]

@@kylejscheffler He might not have actually gone down at all, since artificial insemination exists.

[@vigorouslethargy]

Or Kess just did all the work.

[@brainflash1]

*than

[@tisisonlytemporary]

@@kylejscheffler Twice, technically, cuz he did come out of one.

[@cereal_chick2515]

If I were Crowbar Collective, I would make "Black Mesa gives me lovely wobbly feelings in my tummy tum because Half-Life is my boo" the first quote on the Steam page.

[@belltowersubductions5104]

God, it feels like a century passes from one episode to the next. That might just be the isolation, though.

[@yumyum366]

I mean, go watch Freeman's Mind if you need something to binge.

[@henryambrose8607]

@@raelimperialaerosolkid They're released to the public, you just have to watch it on their website with a slightly sub-par video player, which really isn't actually that bad.

[@wmdtone]

The Black Mesa version of xen is wonderful and seems to have been embraced to some degree by valve as canon.

[@kait3n10]

Wow, how so? Did valve reference some of their ideas in half-life Alyx?

[@supercammy98]

@@kait3n10 Sort of, but It might just be that Black Mesa did a really good job with explaining the lore of xen in ways that are hard to miss, because in half-life its easy to kill a vortigaunt in xen before you realize that they're passive without alien controllers and Black Mesa has sections where they help you out.

[@kait3n10]

@@supercammy98 Oh definitely! They did a great job at humanizing the vorts in xen. I'm wondering though how Valve has acknowledged BM's ideas.. so far I haven't seen any statements from Valve about BM, especially xen.

[@ddxinthehouse]

@@kait3n10 if you play HL:alyx it has "xen" areas that look ripped right out of BM.

[@gyflies]

@Kaiten 10 There's also the fact that Alyx has a pet Snark that looks like it was taken straight out of BM. It just seems like too much of a coincidence that both the Snark and the Xen areas look exactly the same as they do in BM.

[@bengibson8907]

That wellington boot analogy was fantastic.

[@retropulse03]

Actually just started playing this last night, as I REFUSE to play Early Access games... 'cause if I beat it, and I come back in 7 years and it's completely different, I'll feel like I wasted that time playing it the first time, but the 2nd time won't feel new either - so fuck me no matter what. Anyway, Black Mesa is the tits.

[@jiraffe9600]

SkyHighGam3r I assume it being the tits is a good thing right?

[@retropulse03]

@@jiraffe9600 Shit yeah, who doesn't love tits? lol

[@themaskedmysadaean8885]

@@retropulse03 gay dudes

[@retropulse03]

@@themaskedmysadaean8885 Nah man, even most gay dudes loved titties at one point. It's the #1 source of breast-milk, and babies love that shit.

[@kevinthayer9867]

I relate to what you mean about returning to an early access game, for me that was Rust. I almost felt betrayed by the major changes of Rust, I played the hell of it in Alpha, when it was one map, and you could memorize, and make communities with random Russian or Portuguese players. But when it switch to Beta and onwards it was a completely different game, and lost a lot the fun for me. I haven't opened it in years.

[@AGrayPhantom]

I never minded the Xen portion of Half Life. I figured it was supposed to be this unpleasant hellscape, and just rolled with it. Also, at that point I kept getting ammo for my best weapons, so that pleased me.

[@RacingSnails64]

AGrayPhantom it was dense and hard in that classic videogame way and i loved it. the atmosphere and healing pools 😩👌

[@fortunatesoul12]

I really like when Yahtzee is kinda into a game but he's still bashing it to pieces

[@poke548]

Yahtzee is just a Valve tsundere. Not a sentence I expected to type today.

[@lucasdellamaggiore]

@@poke548 Unless you're talking Portal 1

[@JamesBrown-gn9cp]

Having just played Black Mesa Zen for the first time, the boot analogy makes sense. On the other hand, The zen levels are flat out the most breathtaking game environment I have ever witnessed. I’ve seen games with technically better graphics, but none of them built a world that felt both truly alien and convincingly real. I’ve had a lot of moments where a set piece in a game has made me stop and admire it: an exploding mountain or dramatic crash landing. At least in the first two thirds of zen that was happening every few minutes. I’m not countering Yahtzee’s argument, but I do think calling zen a boot is doing it a great disservice.

[@DragonHeart53]

Personally, I think the Zen level works for it. The entire game up to that point had talked about interdimensional travel, and how all the creatures you've face have come from this parallel world that you have no idea about, but gradually see more and more poking through. Actually going to Zen itself is actually a rather big pay off, as once you've fought through all of the soldiers trying to stop you, and the aliens that have poked through dimensions onto earth, I doubt there's really much more that could have been done. As Yahtzee said, when the game was in Early access, and stopped abruptly at the point of going into the portal, it felt just that. Abrupt and unfinished. So if the game is all the worse by not having Zen, then having it's inclusion still improves the game, particularly in that fact that it is a sort of pay off. That all this game it's been you trying to survive the mayhem of interdimensional traveling aliens suddenly showing up, and you getting to finally do the interdimensional traveling yourself.

[@tentimestay9181]

"Cack Hazer" has to be the most apt description for Yahtz' job ever written.

[@Tomiply]

I actually loved how Xen was so long. Feels like two games in one now: first half is Black Mesa, second half is Xen. It doesn't just feel like Xen is tacked on anymore, it feels like a bonus game. It's not like "Oh man, nearly finished." No, you still have lots to go when you get to Xen. Such a refreshing feeling to me.

[@MrBelgianJunglist]

Can't wait to play this in VR in 15 years

[@JP_Crimson]

And Co-op of those two females characters

[@appliedatoms7066]

GOD, yahtzee, you know you can just TURN ON auto-crouchjump from the options. HOW on EARTH did you miss THAT? You should ABSOLUTELY have to dig through the menus of every single game you play in case they have one tiny thing that could help alleviate a tiny nitpick you have.

[@thefridgefreezer]

Can you turn on a mounting mechanic?

[@TARINunit9]

All sarcasm aside, auto-crouchjump is actually on by default, so I'm not even sure how Yahtzee had the problem to begin with

[@Eva-uw6uo]

To be fair, I don't think Yahtzee spends much time in the options menu. He claims you can't look up in his Conduit review but you can if you tweak the outrageously detailed and customizable control settings. Yeah, the game's still laughable and his other criticisms still stand but those control settings were the best and most fleshed out part of the game, it even let you map button combinations.

[@nawf4372]

@@TARINunit9 It was probably patched that way after release. Kind of in the same way that they patch off tutorial pop-ups in Doom Eternal. Don't stop the game to tell me the enemies weaknesses, just show a message that there is a tutorial and I'll look at it if I start having problems killing it.

[@moe4b]

@@TARINunit9 the auto crouch doesn't always work, I've had to manually crouch many times, it's better than nothing tho

[@Darkthestral1]

Yatzee: Half Life is my boo Dark Souls: Excuuuuse me!?!

[@merrittanimation7721]

I THOUGHT WHAT WE HAD WAS SPECIAAAAAAAAL!

[@PsychoSavager289]

Prince of Persia Sands of Time: *rewinds time to before he knew Yahtzee*

[@Poctyk]

DS is his Mistress

[@Kroododile553]

Yeah well, Portal is his Soulmate don’t forget

[@E1craZ4life]

Undertale is his favorite mistress.

[@Michae89]

I really like the Xen chapter in BM. It felt like a completely new game but it was really fun, had a great atmosphere and fleshed out the Vortigaunts really nicely. Also the final boss fight was awesome.

[@Archbishop_of_the_Noodle]

Until I heard that people didnt like zen last year I was confused. Turned out that I skipped the entire level by suicide jumping from the beginning since the damn graphic sprites didnt show me where to jump to and got annoyed. Fought the boss and 20 years later found out that there was an actual level to zen beside platform jumping to the large rock.

[@gumfireparalax1371]

I had never had this issue. It was fairly obvious where to go for me.

[@cyansuy3062]

I personally liked the Xen level of Black Mesa. You start the game in survival horror, making your way through the facility surrounded by aliens with only a crowbar as a friend. Then when the soldiers come, it becomes a familiar tactical shooter. But when you get to Xen the role are reversed. You are no longer fighting aliens, you ARE the alien.

[@sainsburyshopper]

Played Half Life 1 side by side with Black Mesa. Very interesting experience, would definitely recommend.

[@fulldisclosureiamamonster2786]

As in... playing both games on two separate computers simultaneously? This actually sounds like a neat KZbin series idea.

[@bv1989ro]

This is, without a doubt, the best review I've seen in years on this channel. It's funny how caring about the game you review makes the review so much better.

[@laurikorkeaniemi7633]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="139">2:19</a> I feel like I should try to answer that question, because I have never played any of the Half-Life games Maybe this could be my chance to fulfill my role as a lab-rat in service of gaming?

[@MalloonTarka]

Go. Fulfil your destiny.

[@henryambrose8607]

SUBJECT: Lauri Korkeaniemi

[@laurikorkeaniemi7633]

@@henryambrose8607 *Another scientist leans over and whispers:* "Hey, how do you pronounce that?"

[@BenMcManus]

Someone pay this man his 100 bits so we can get his review

[@DrakeVideos]

Seems like his only major criticism was something Black Mesa couldn't really change

[@PumatSol]

I happen to love Wellington boots

[@ashkuigp]

TheAndrew0085 yepp. And what can be classier than going on the hunt in alien landscapes in tweed suit and Wellington boots?

[@BJWeNeedUDefendingUsWithZeMG42]

But is it as good as... HUNT DOWN THE FREEMAN?

[@DemonicEngineer]

GET OUT!!!

[@somestupiddudewithayoutube4676]

No

[@hazama0634]

BJ! We need you defending us with the MG42! *cocks shotgun* what did you say?!

[@vjollila96]

how dare you HDTF is legendary

[@anarcho-linuxism4933]

Hunt Down the Freeman is the pinnacle of human achievement.

[@ninjabiatch101]

"Its probably safest for me to hang out in this alien infested corridor" XD

[@mononoke721]

The new Xen does go on a bit, and is even less well-optimised than other parts of the game, but it's certainly a memorable trip through a spaced-up multi-dimensional frat party.

[@Technicallyaddicted]

this is the only review channel i watch anymore. how it took me 6 years to find idk. i cant wait for him to review cyberpunk2077. i just want to hear him trash the most anticipated game of all time, the most expensive game of all time. keep being you brotherman

[@deathsyth8888]

Pro Half-Life & Half-Life 2 when Yahtzee? Whoops, wrong channel.

[@psycholupus5697]

ayyyyy

[@Bossprojectify]

Ayyyyyyyyyyy

[@joegaming96]

ayyyyyyyy

[@geoffreywilson7008]

Slick

[@jaredkronk4614]

Sometimes I feel like the only one who loved the original xen

[@sophisticatediorama]

I'm right there with you. I enjoy the new one, but doesn't really capture the oppression and hostility original Xen had going for it. I liken it to those final chapters of System Shock 2, almost.

[@RacingSnails64]

Vincent you're not alone! i really enjoyed Xen (and not just for the healing pools 😩👌). the atmosphere was fantastic and truly made me feel lost in an alien world. also the dense difficult iconic of classic games helped with that too lol

[@ba_charles]

Will Zero Punctuation still be doing this schtick in his 80s?

[@aether3885]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="145">2:25</a> the origin story of Dwayne Elizondo Herbert Mountain Dew Camacho lol

[@oomfoof7294]

I love that they've actually acknowledged this review as well.

[@azzzanadra]

i actually liked zen, although it felt a bit depressing, and i disliked how the jump upgrade was not given before. can't wait for half life alyx, doom eternal, and animal crossing

[@Dan0RG]

Um... all of these are out already?

[@azzzanadra]

@@Dan0RG I mean I cant wait until yahtz reviews them

[@MrTimmy132]

Didn't the jump pack only work because of the low gravity in zen?

[@azzzanadra]

@@MrTimmy132 the long jump was fun in the tutorial, so it worked before xen

[@gumfireparalax1371]

@@azzzanadra Yeah, but if it had been given earlier, everyone else would have complained because it didn't line up with the original.

[@playin4power]

The Wellington Boot analogy killed me

[@durandal0093]

I played Black Mesa in it's very early access days and couldn't be bothered to try it again. It blew my mind when I saw that name in the title. It's good to know they didn't end up doing the Half life legacy dirty, like so many other indie titles. Informative and entertaining as always. Thank you!

[@j.w.osullivan429]

What an incredibly good analogy at the end there.

[@BenjaminSteber]

"Doesn't feel like a payoff for what was set up." You mean going to the alien world to stop an alien invasion wasn't a payoff for the goddamn aliens taking over all the shit?

[@mr.cup6yearsago211]

Obviously it’s a payoff narratively, Half-Life has a great story. He was saying it wasn’t a satisfying payoff mechanically.

[@BenjaminSteber]

@@mr.cup6yearsago211 The head crabs are push overs with melee attacks but when you're in a bind they are scary and fun to fight. The soldiers are spongey and their weapons are impactful and when you are equipped they are fun to fight. The aliens are goofy and tankey and their weapons are gimmicky and weak, they are not fun to fight, so it sucks that even though we travel to another dimension we spend the whole back half of the game fighting them. Valve: Oh, what's that? The Aliens suck? Well now the aliens are all just the soldiers and we're calling them the combine. Better? Much.

[@mr.cup6yearsago211]

@@BenjaminSteber I don’t understand what this comment is trying to say, genuinely.

[@BenjaminSteber]

@@mr.cup6yearsago211 I just haphazardly revisited this comment. I too have no idea what I was trying to say. Assume I was drunk and you, like Gordon Freeman, got stuck in a vent.

[@mr.cup6yearsago211]

@@BenjaminSteber lol, fair enough!

[@Scuba-Ry]

I'll never be able to see a ham sandwich the same way ever again...

[@BIRDYCODYT]

It's been years and Zero punctuation is still vibin!

[@carrotmaster8521]

that finisher was perfect as always

[@arbeitsscheuer]

I'm so old that I would have said Jane Goodall instead of Diane Fossy.

[@rufusconnolly8489]

I'm so old that I know who Jane Goodall is o.o;

[@kopperhed4472]

"Yes, hello FBI? I found Dan Cooper. He's a theoretical physicist at a top-secret government laboratory."

[@enigma1924]

Wondered when this one was coming

[@7ens3nButt0n]

cant argue with the last statement

[@Cosmic_Fyre]

Someone did the opening ride from HL in unreal a year ago didnt they?

[@KevinFromHPCustomerSupport]

Oh ye. It's called Project Lambda

[@henryambrose8607]

They aren't doing the rest of the game though. It was just a test of some free assets.

[@TARINunit9]

I'm not sure how Xen (old or new) doesn't pay off. What was Yahtzee expecting after Questionable Ethics, for Gordon Freeman to raid the Pentagon?

[@sujimayne]

I think he was drugged while writting this stuff, either that or we're seeing early signs of dementia.

[@hoodedman6579]

@@sujimayne You have left way too many comments about this and now you just look like a fanboy.

[@teamcybr8375]

The issue is not the story, but the gameplay.

[@kabobawsome]

It's a payoff story-wise, but it's absolutely not a payoff gameplay-wise. Xen works for the story, but the gameplay is so radically different it feels like when a game drops you into a mech suit for the final boss when before that, you were sneaking around, slitting throats.

[@TARINunit9]

@@kabobawsome If that's what he was talking about (and I really don't get the impression he was) then at least New Xen is better about it. It has a bad case of "Half Life 2 puzzles" but there's much more combat and the combat really does feel like you're behind enemy lines in a hostile sort of base -- just like Black Mesa

[@MrGreglego]

That analogy at the end was so accurate

[@clearlywrong6520]

When I first picked up this game in early access on Steam, I had just moved into the dorms. When it finally launched, I was wrapping up with my tenor at university and COVID rocked the world. That combination of growing up and the world crumbling both in-game and out somewhat haunts me.

[@Kvakva]

I like it. Wanted more interaction with NPCs, like saving them? Oh a guy dandling near my feet holding for his dear life? Should I extend my hands? MUAHAHA no.

[@DayLateGamerWill]

Wait.... uploaded an hour ago? I am pretty damn sure I wayched this video like a week ago

[@JeremyComans]

The store page has a box quote by Destructoid, taken from a preview they wrote in 2012.

[@JowoHD]

I kinda agree on the xen bit apart from the way they've styled it, the way that it's a mix of alien world and collapsed human research facilities looks incredible

[@Flormph]

I actually loved the zen chapter, the music made the whole thing worth it, you just come out of a war torn facility covered by death and zen proved to be a reprove, but also rather sad because you found the facilities failure and fall all over the place, with the torn compounds and the HEV zombies. Also it gave better characterization of the vortigonts in my opinion

[@Flormph]

Excuse spelling and xen not zen mb

[@michaelpalmer5995]

As someone who couldn't get into half life partially because of the graphics, would this be a good substitute before half life two?

[@vycter6899]

I mean yeah but you should just try and play hl1.

[@hanakoikezawa8322]

Just get over the graphics it’s a good game I promise

[@vycter6899]

@@hanakoikezawa8322 Yeah. I'd argue it's better than BM from a gameplay standpoint anyway but thats just me.

[@Semudara]

I mean, I don't see why not! Seems like the whole point of Black Mesa is to be a somewhat more polished and modern version of Half-Life, and I'd imagine they were quite careful to preserve continuity, being huge fans and all. So I figure if you play this in place of the original, and then go to Half-Life 2, it should actually work pretty well.

[@vycter6899]

@@Semudara I mean they put Kleiner in the ams area at the start of the game which he wasn't there in hl1. The story is mostly the same yes but obviously BM Xen takes liberties with how Xen looks which personally im not a fan of but meh. I know Half Life Alyx only just came out but the Xen stuff you see taking over the buildings and what not looks great chz it feels like a hd version of hl1 Xen. BM Xen looks quite different.

[@xXxKAMIKAZExXx]

Your analogies are the best

[@jameshutton7115]

When I played the original for the first time, Xen was my favourite part. It still is. I've never ever understood the hate for it.

[@bubbajohnson1354]

oh boy cant wait for another half life game review in a week

[@jonathancottrill9729]

What timeline is this

[@francocentrone197]

Spoiler: it's Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Probably then it's Doom Eternal, then Half-life, then maybe RE3?

[@clawso9014]

Hey Yahtzee, have you ever heard of Mechanicus? It quite fun and has very good music, fun gamplay for an XCOM like game, without the accuracy mechanic. I know its a few years old but it might be a good idea when you have nothing else to review. I am unsure of the likelihood that you'll see this, but have a nice life if you don't.

[@rayanderson5797]

I loved that game. Partially because I really like the faction it's based around, but the gameplay was fun too. I'll leave a like to up the chances this gets seen. Praise be the Omnissiah.

[@r3dp9]

Mechanicus is the perfect game to review. It does some things amazingly well, and does some things amazingly horribly. It's a very awkward gem.

[@bukachell]

No matter what I do i get a ton of visual glitches when playing. The reflective objects have glitched lighting and the flash light only lights up objects.

[@PupShepardRubberized]

this game is sooo fun. just gotten to the head crabs mother battle. no compaints so far. Zen looks amazing.

[@PusokR]

At first I didn't agree with Yahtzee while playing Xen. Then the further I went in the more I was seeing what he meant. At first they were doing a good job of varying the environments: blue vista area, research station, jungle... but then more jungle, more caves. The giant teleporter should have been earlier. And the gonarch sequence was WAY too long; by the time I got to the real fight with it I just wanted it to be done. And basically that's the thing: sequences are starting to feel really padded. They said they streamlined On A Rail because it just meanders around but that's what this feels like too. I actually like the concept of Xen; it's alien and to me does fit the narrative. But when you're in it too long it becomes familiar and loses the alien surrealism.

[@kiyoaki1985]

I was impressed by the new levels but I think the main issue like you say was the abrupt change in gameplay once you cross over into Xen. The HECU soldiers are very fun to fight with the arsenal you have at that point, and they just disappear from the game and are replaced by malevolent party balloons and spider crabs and the remake doesn't fix this issue where it probably should have. The hivehand in particular makes short work of most threats with minimal effort (you can just keep shooting them into the water and it will kill any ichtyosaur) and the endless power plug puzzles aren't as enjoyable as the game thinks they are. I think it would've been cool if the game had had a few sections where some HECU grunts were somehow teleported accidentally into Xen with you and you'd have three-way fights between the aliens, the grunts and yourself, maybe that doesn't make sense storywise but it would have added some non-puzzle based challenge to the Xen levels.

[@Vort23]

As a long time Half-Life, this is possibly my favorite review from you ever. For several reasons, but I'm not gonna lie the bit about HL maps and female genitalia was probably my favorite comment xD

[@draconios]

I bought this quite some time ago, having played half life 2, the episodes and the portal games....never got round to finishing it because of work until this lockdown

[@dustmystic291]

I haven't played black mesa, but I remember being genuinely surprised when I found out that many people actually didn't like the Xen section in the original. When my innocent 13 year old eyes set their sights on the thing somewhere around 2008 (I didn't have the money for new games. Heck, I was still playing master of orion 2) I was enthralled by the strange alien environment and creepy organic style of the world. It never occurred to me that the enemies were damage spongy at all. The only damper in my spirits was that this was very clearly the final chapter and the game and it was going to end soon.

[@EdgarRodriguez-gi9mw]

So hl alyx Review for the next week?

[@E1craZ4life]

I thought he already reviewed Half-Life (HRUUH) Alyx.

[@heartysquid]

@@E1craZ4life good use of the dryheave colon

[@GammellNotCamel]

Kinda sounds like the developer of Black Mesa was working on Valve time.

[@bionicdragon5]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="122">2:02</a> Dr. Coomer: "Every cell of my body is in excruciating pain."

[@thebritishbiker8197]

i swear i have seen this before

[@NegatingSilence]

Could've been slightly shorter but the BM Xen chapters were beautiful. Glad they did it.

[@Disasterclese]

That is an astonishingly brilliant metaphor.

[@paradoxacres1063]

Knowing that Yahtzee will one day review *HuniePop 2* it fills me with determination!

[@asmodin88]

If it ever releases in the first place

[@E1craZ4life]

Asmodin Not yet. But Yahtzee starts live-streaming at 4 PM Eastern Time, and if you leave a $2 tip, he might respond to you.

[@majik5194]

I'm sorry is it just me or have I already seen this video? But it was uploaded like 30 minutes ago. Wtf?

[@GhostRiderSupreme]

Yea. I've seen this too

[@l.pietrobon3925]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="173">2:53</a>. Holy shit man, Tommy's face being replaced with Dan Cooper scared the shit outta me. Out of all things that I've seen in the Internet...

[@keefe20x6]

I appreciate that his "down to earth" persona is still an Aussie.

[@SurprisinglyDeep]

Yeah he's really become a naturalised Australian after immigrating there from Britain

[@KirbyIsCute]

I'm hoping Yahtzee will review the new Animal Crossing game soon. Even if it's negative, I wanna hear what he has to say about it,

[@Randomeaninglessword]

I assume it'll just be most of what he said about New Leaf, if he even has enough to say to review it.

[@geoffreywilson7008]

He'd have to timeskip if he didn't want to take a month for a proper full-featured review.

They keep remaking the thing. I was well into it when they again were like we remade the AI and level layouts and you saves don't work now.

[@sophisticatediorama]

This happened to me, too. I got all the way up to Forget About Freeman maybe 6 months ago, and booted it back up to celebrate the official release. So it wasn't a jump straight into Xen like I was hoping...

@@sophisticatediorama Well, you can go directly to the Xen part trough level select.

[@sophisticatediorama]

@ But without my weapon stash!? D =

[@ZeroXcuses]

I lost it at the broccoli bit. Bravo.

[@Neatherback]

R.I.P The Chuckle Brothers mug. :(

[@lucyann1573]

Holy crap I've never been this early. Uh...hi! Hope you're all healthy and happy out there.

[@vcom741]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="125">2:05</a> is Yahtzee alright there? His voice sounded sick :/

[@PolythenePam0451]

Xen is more like "Oh, you don't like broccoli? Then here's 4 times as much spinach."

[@robsilverstone8948]

Good review

[@SuperSocks7]

come on my guy. You know we all just want doom eternal

[@kaimerry1587]

last time i was this early.... actually, scratch that. this is a first.

[@Noobshire]

* looks up Dian Fossey - is not disappointed with gag *

[@Madrigos]

Haha, someone else noticed the Chuckle Brothers mug going missing!

[@RhysClark97]

Yahtzee: i dont like it when games are remade because they tend to chase modern trends Also Yahtzee: crouch jumping weird, i would expect a mantling system

[@chrismacbean]

Psst...I think he meant modern trends like "Barney forgot his coffee at reception. Retrieve it and he will shoot headcrabs for you"

[@RhysClark97]

@@chrismacbean and i dont think he meant that, good talk.

[@chrismacbean]

@@RhysClark97 Umm, no shit you think that.

[@RhysClark97]

@@chrismacbean you replied first to tell me you think different while presenting no evidence as to why, your input was nothing. That was the joke.

[@chrismacbean]

Seriously? He means modern trends like fetch quests. Apologies for using an example rather than the term.

[@Eleven217]

"Early Access"= Skip Turn Uno Card

[@woopyfrood]

"Metroid meets American McGee's Alice bad acid trip at a children's ball pit" I would play the FUCK out of that.

[@DerekHartley]

Jesus, I just checked, and my first post on the SECOND iteration of forums for Black Mesa was in 2009.